“As concerned as we are about the Olympics, that’s nothing. That’s two, three, four weeks for the athletes and participants and the visitors. This mean-spirited and hateful law will affect all Russians 365 days of the year, every year. It is an incitement to intolerance, which breeds hate. And intolerance and hate breed violence. We wanted more than a verbal commitment to the IOC. And now the comments by the Russian sports minister, Vitaly Mutko, are of deep concern. The Olympics is a great celebration of international sport, of international co-operation. This type of law being enforced flies in the face of the entire Olympic spirit.” – Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird
Yesterday Mutko who is the Russian Minister of Sports said that despite the “assurances” claimed by the International Olympic Committee, Russia will indeed arrest any athlete or fan who violates their ban on “homosexual propaganda.”
Well said Minister – the draconian laws passed in Russia go far beyond the Olympics – these are an atrocious abuse of human rights – damn you Putin !!
OK OK, it is a good thing that the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs (the non-American version of Secretary of State) opens his mouth against the mean-spirited and hateful anti-gay law in Russia OK OK!\
BUT.. the law has been proposed in the Duma several months ago, has been signed several weeks a go by the Bigot President Putin…. why does the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs speaks out NOW?
And not then when the first signals of the mean-spirited and hateful law was starting to develop?
Or is it that Canadian Foreign Office is so slow in functioning that its Minister only can react when things have been concluded, the damage already has been done?
When people in positions like the Canadian Minister would have stepped up their opposition prior to acceptance of the proposals in the Duma, the proposals could have been forced to be changed, and when the Duma accepted and worldwide there was notice that the creep we know as President of Russia would wholeheartedly sign the bill into law while he also wholeheartedly supports the homosexual abuse in the military by the highest of the highest officers, were were the people in the same positions as the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs?
What was said and done by western officials when the Mayor of Saint Petersburg started to ban Pride Marches? And who stood up when Russian riot police protected the scum that wounded, killed and tortured Russian Pride participants?
No Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs stood up, nor any of the High positioned officials of the European Union!
The Baroness Ashdown (or whatever her names is) of the European Union still needs to make an official statement against the law!
Hypocrites!
Now there’s an uproar growing, and economics are getting involved (boycotts of Russian goods!) they suddenly crawl from under their rocks and start screaming……
And no, it’s not a matter of national sovereignty, equal rights is a matter of human rights, and human rights are universal!
Not ever a matter of national interest or sovereignty!
I read an article about growing up Gay in Russia this morning via Huffingtonpost. And it was more than just about growing up gay there, it was about the transition from a communist country, to a free market society in which those in the top rung of old USSR could take, and privatize the countries previous assets, and call them their own.
What Russia is today, is newly created oligarchs from those who reigned power during USSR. Prime example? Putin, former KGB.
Soviet attitudes were never purged, and human abuses never stopped. Msyogyny, and homophobia still play well into Russia’s political asylum.
Canada’s Foreign Minister did well by calling Out Russia’s anti-gay laws, as did President Obama, especially from a human aspect, “If Russia doesn’t have gay or lesbian members on their team, they will probably be weaker.”
Now this whole cast of events, especially since the IOC elected Russia as the site for the 2014 Olympcs, for all nations to call Russia out for what they are not: a Democracy.